Day 162.  I love comfort food.  Home made bread, warm soup, and yes caramel popcorn.  These are just some foods that I think of as comfort.  It doesn't matter what kind of day you have had, a good helping of your favorite food makes everything better.  I love getting the cans of popcorn that have three different flavors in them.  I like to mix the flavors some but the kids think that it's wrong to mix them.  Still, it's funny to see which flavor is gone first.  Usually it's  the cheese flavor.  I know everyone has their own favorite foods and flavors.  What about churches?  Do people go to church where they feel comfortable?  Church isn't supposed to make you feel comfortable.  It is supposed to help you grow.  If you are comfortable you will stay right where you are, because growth isn't comfortable.     

Day 161.  Oh the things you do for your kids.  Now that Matthew is attending Texas Tech University, we have to cheer for them.  We usually do anyway, but now it's more personal.  And he doesn't even play ball.  He can't go to the games wearing his OU hoodie, though.  When Texas Tech plays Oklahoma then we are on opposite sides.  There is only so much you will do for them.  It's all in good fun.  We are watching the Meineke bowl tonight, yelling for Texas Tech, and having fun doing it.  What would church be like if we would worship with as much passion as we watch football?  If someone stood up and yelled AMEN like we yell TOUCHDOWN, it might start a revival or just scare every one to death.  Maybe someone should try it.  

Day 160.  Here they are.  My new tires, well one of them anyway.  Nothing special to any one but me.  They aren't over sized or specialized.  They are just tires, and I like them.  The fact that I like them and I am satisfied with them make them that much better.  Maybe that's why God puts up with people.  I don't have to be smarter or better than anyone else, He likes me and that is what matters.  To some people, life is one big competition.  They always have to compare who they are and what they have with people around them.  I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter how much you have, someone else has more.  And, it doesn't matter how big and tough you are, there is always someone bigger and tougher.  Trying to keep up with those around you will cause you more stress than you might realize.  In the bible Paul said that he had learned to be content with little or with much.  I think the most compared things in the world are children.  Whose is smarter or more talented, which one is better looking or more athletic.  As if our children don't have enough to live up to.  Kids are people, and people are all different.  They have different abilities and different potential.  So, if I brag on my kids, I'm not saying they are better than some one else.  I'm just bragging.  If I brag on what God has done for me, I'm not saying he likes me better than he likes others.  I'm just bragging on what he does, and he does a lot.  The snow that we got on Christmas is almost gone, except in the parking lots.  But, it sure was fun to drive through the parking lots today and not worry about losing traction.  Did I mention that I like my tires.

Day 159.  Well as you can see, or not see, there isn't a picture here.  I did take a few pictures but I really didn't like any of them.  So, I thought I would wait and try tomorrow, but tomorrow kept turning into another day.  I will get back to the pictures, but for now, I need to get caught up on the blog.  Christmas has been great.  We have the greatest kids ever.  It didn't matter what they got, or didn't get, they were happy and even excited for everything.  We didn't have a big pile of presents for each kid.  They just got a few things each.  Like every one else these days it seems there are more bills than income, but once again God provided for everything.  We are so blessed.  Not only just for Christmas but a last minute gift to us made it possible to get new tires on the jeep.  Merry Christmas to me.  Stacy said each kid gave me a tire.  Wasn't that nice of them?  I brined a turkey and roasted it for lunch.  Every one had at least one thing for lunch that they had specifically asked for except Maggie.  All she asked for was dinner rolls and we forgot to set them out to rise.  So we cooked them for supper. It turned out alright. Now its back to the office and on to new years.  What will the new year bring?  It will be good.

Day 153.  The kids were playing around today and said they hoped that if the world ends tomorrow they hope it happens before school.  Stacy told them that it wouldn't happen until after two and then the school would have to go into lock down and they would be stuck there until late.  They did not think that was funny.  We went to see a movie tonight.  We don't get to do that very often.  It was a nice evening.  I love that my family gets along.  I hear families fussing and fighting all the time.  I'm not talking about just not getting along.  I'm talking about calling the police on family members and having them arrested, falsely accusing each other of serious crimes, and, totally refusing to be associated with close relatives.  Thank you Jesus for a family that loves each other. 

Day 152. More dirt, more wind, and then it snowed.  That's right, it snowed.  The day started out with the wind coming out of the south west.  It started gusting up to about 60 mph and kicked up dirt and anything else that wasn't tied down.  And we weren't as bad as a little further south.  But, about three o'clock the wind changed directions and came out of the north.  The temperature dropped about 20 degrees and by three fifteen there were a few snow flakes, and a little later it was snowing so bad that Maggie was hoping, and praying, for enough snow that school would be cancelled on Thursday.  It only snowed enough to get the dirt out of the air, and that was good.  The wind didn't stop until almost midnight.  We had our annual church Christmas banquet but the weather didn't keep every one away.  A lot of work went into making this a great event.  We had a really good turn out and the food was wonderful.  We have an awesome bunch of people.  On another note.  As I was choosing a photo for today, I hit auto correct to see what the computer would do with it.  It corrected the sky to blue and took out all of the haze.  It made it look like it was a beautiful day.  Don't you wish that some days you had an auto correct button.

Day 151.  Tonight was Annie's school program.  She is not lacking in the drama genes.  She loves to perform.  Here she is being one of Santa's helpers singing, "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town".  She loves the part that says, "you better watch out," that's why the finger is pointing and shaking.  She got to pass out candy canes too.  So, it's Tuesday, tomorrow night is the Church Christmas banquet.  Matthew should get to come home for the banquet, and stay for a little while.  Hopefully, he will hear about a job tomorrow.  I know that will make him feel better, and us to.  We signed the lease for his apartment today locking in the rate for another year.  So it should be a pretty good Christmas.  Not much in the way of presents, but we will be together and that will be good.

Day 150.  I seem to be having more fun creating different effects than actually finding shots.  That and I can't seem to find time to go out looking for shots.  It is fun to see what I can come up with though.  Like a time warp through Christmas.  By now you know that I like to remember past Christmases, but I wonder what future Christmases will be like.  That is if we make it past the Mayan end of the world this year.  What will future Christmases be like.  As technology increases, what will be the latest gadgets that all the kids want.  Maybe one day we will gather around holographic trees.  We won't even have to decorate a tree.  We already sit around fake fire places.  Whatever the future is like, I'm sure we will adjust and enjoy it.

Day 149.  We had the children's Christmas program Sunday morning.  It went very well.  All the kids did a great job.  It is funny to watch the children and see which ones seem to take to the stage naturally and which ones struggle being in front of a crowd.  Like I said, all the kids did great, but I am a parent to three of them, so those are the ones I will brag on the most.  For some reason all of my children have a flair for drama.  Dugan says he doesn't like to be in front of a crowd, but put him on the stage and he can really act it up.  But no one can put it on like Maggie.  She has a great ability to memorize lines, and she isn't afraid to really put some flair into it.  She was toned down for the Christmas program, which worked out well.  When she was in kindergarten, her class did a program about the three little pigs.  Her teacher came to us later and told us that when Maggie wins her first Academy award she hopes that Maggie will remember her.  I don't push that dream too much.  If she decides to be something besides an actor, well that will be just fine.  Whatever they decide to do, they have what it takes to succeed. 

Day 148.  I wasn't really expecting to have my picture back on here so soon, but we took some family pics today.  Matthew wasn't able to be here for them.  We waited until now so he could be here but something came up.  It was hard on Stacy to have family pictures without Matthew, so she asked me to insert his head from another picture.  She wanted it to look like I inserted it, so it would be kind of funny.  Well, it definitely looks funny.  I don't think we will use it for cards though.  We do miss him at home, but I'm glad he has his own life.  When Matthew was about three years old, we got a puppy from the local shelter.  Matthew named him Poogiebo, remember he was three.  We called him Bo.  Bo was a mixed breed but he was a natural herder, and he was always herding Matthew.  It was very funny.  I trained Bo to find Matthew when he was hiding.  I would hide Matthew somewhere and then tell the dog to find him.  Bo always found him.  I guess I just wanted to know that if Matthew ever wandered off, we could find him.  He never did wander off, but we were ready if he did.  It was hard at first to not know where he was or what he was doing when he first went to college.  Now, days go by before we hear from him.  After three days we get a little anxious and have to call or text him.  What can I say, letting go is a process.

Day 147.  It actually rained today.  Not a lot, but it was rain.  It has been months since we have seen drop of rain.  The river is dry, the lakes are dry, and I heard some ranchers this morning talking about their wells going dry.  It seems we may be headed to another dust bowl, or perhaps becoming a desert.  We will pray for more rain, enough rain to replenish this thirsty land.  I guess I'm looking for something to ease the sorrow of this day.  Today, Friday 12/14/12, a man walked into an elementary school in Connecticut and killed 26 people.  Twenty of them were children.  As more of the story comes out, it only gets worse.  I can not imagine the hurt that those parents and families are going through tonight.  If this country ever needed another spiritual outpouring, it is now.  Lord send the rain, or better yet, come quickly.


Day 146.  I was thinking about this blog the other day and realized that if I didn't have any pictures of myself then I wouldn't see how I have changed in a year.  I don't really like taking my own picture but I do want to know how this year has changed me.  So here I am, and every once in a while I will add another.  I went to get my hair cut a few days ago and the girl commented on how much gray I was getting.  I guess that is one way I will be changing this year.  This is my week to write the ministers article for the newspaper.  I found that it was easier to do than usual.  I wrote it like I write on this blog except it was quite a bit longer.  I didn't try to be all scholarly and religious, I just wrote what I was thinking.  So, that is another way I seem to be changing, and it's only been five months.  What else will this year bring.

Day 145.  I can't seem to be completely still when I take pictures, so, I decided to use that to my advantage.  I purposely slow down the shutter and move the lens in different patterns just to see what I get.  What may seem like a botched picture is actually done on purpose, and turns out pretty cool.  The problem is picking which one to post.  Now, I have to get caught up on posting, I'm a few days behind.  This is for Wednesday, 12/12/12.  There is a lot of hype over the date, but really it is just another day.

Day 144.  I know, this isn't a Christmas picture.  It isn't even a current picture.  It was taken in February at a men's retreat.  We had a blast.  I was reminded of the trip a couple of times in the last few days.  I don't know if I will get to go this year.  The guys that went with me won't be able to go.  It may just be a couple of us going, but if I can get a couple to go then we will.  Back to Christmas, this is shaping up to be such a busy week.  Can someone tell me why school teachers give out so much home work right before Christmas break?  Don't they plan for this?  They know it's coming up, and yet, there are two projects and two essays due.  And, they were just handed out a few days ago.  When you put that on top of the band concerts and choir concerts the kids don't have time to breathe much less attend after school activities.  I think they could have been working on some of this a month ago instead of watching movies in class.  Just my opinion.  I don't think class time should be used for movies any way.  That's my rant for the day.  By the way, the cheese cake on Monday night was awesome.  Again, my opinion.  But hey, it's my blog.

Day143.  More lights.  What can I say, it's Christmas.  When Christmas is over I won't have lights to take pictures of so I am taking advantage of them now.  Life is like that.  We take advantage of what is before us.  If I know what is coming up, then I plan on how to take advantage of that.  Like new years or valentines day.  How about the end of the world?  I haven't started hoarding supplies or built a special shelter.  But, I have made arrangements for what I consider to be the end.  When this age is over, and it will be someday, all of the hoarding and prepping won't save you.  Only one thing can save you on that day.  And that is faith in Jesus Christ.  There is never a bad time to turn to Christ, but what a special time this would be.  As we celebrate His birth, we also celebrate our birth in Him.  Christ is no myth.  Santa Clause is the myth, the legend.  Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life. 

Day 142.  It's raining light.  Not really, but it was snowing earlier.  Well, it was blowing a little snow though the area.    I'm psyching myself up for cold weather.  I used to tolerate the cold better than I do now.  Some people tell me it is because I'm getting older, but that's not it.  I just like warmer weather and I am not ready to give it up this year.  But, I do like the lights.  How many lights can you put on a single Christmas tree?  Several years ago I worked at a Sears store in the Christmas shoppe.  I got the task of decorating the trees that were on display.  We would wrap 15 to 16 strings of lights on each tree, and then put all the ornaments on.  We had a list of everything that went on a tree and we had to make sure it would all go on.  It never failed that there would be people who would buy the trees already decorated.  I couldn't believe how much they were willing to spend.  For years after that I would have to decorate my tree the same way.  Now we have a pre lit tree and I let the kids put most of the ornaments on.  I like this way better.  I have so many cool memories of Christmases past, I'm sure every one does, and it is fun to remember them.  And, it is just as fun making new ones.

Day 141.  I made this today.  It's for a Christmas party Monday night.  I just hope I can stay out of it until then.  It is  a chocolate truffle covered New York style cheesecake.  Just in case some one doesn't like cheesecake we will have another dessert.  There will also be chocolate truffles to eat as well.  Stacy gets to do the dinner, I just did the dessert.  I did it today so it will be nice and chilled, plus there won't be much of a chance to get it done after today.  I'll let you know Monday night how it tastes.

Day 140.  Here it is.  The science teacher told Maggie that it is ok to use the rat trap for her project.  Check out the size difference between the two.  The object is to use the trap to power the car to go 10 meters, and hopefully have the fastest time doing it.  For some reason both of these veer to the right, but the big one does go the 10 meters.  Just hope she gets a good grade.  It was fun building them and testing them.  As soon as I got finished with Maggie then I helped Annie with her project.  My part wasn't hard.  Dugan actually did a lot of the work.  It looks really good.  It is a diorama depicting the American Indians that lived in Pueblos.  And we actually had time to go to the church so they could practice the Christmas program.  It has been a very productive day.  In a few weeks I will be looking for something to do.  But, I guess that's life.

Day 139.  Jr. High is such an adventure, for parents.  This week we are making mousetrap cars.  This is the first prototype that Maggie and I built.  Once we get it finished then I will help Dugan with his.  He doesn't want his to look like hers.  I forgot how fun 8th grade science is.  In the mean time I get to help Annie make an Indian pueblo in a shoe box.  I don't mind, because I think these things are fun.  Stacy helps them with Math, Speech, and English.  What do kids do when their parents don't or won't help with school work.  I'm glad we are able to help.  It keeps us all connected.  I don't know everything that my kids get into, but I know most of it, and they aren't afraid to talk to us.  So, I will continue to help with science projects and band trips, or what ever it takes.  Children are a blessing from the Lord, and blessed is the man whose quiver is full.  I am blessed and I know it.

Day 138.   Since I don't paint, I thought that it would be fun to take a picture of a bowl of fruit.  So I did.  Tangerines, apples, and bananas, oh my.  The bowl is an Hazel Atlas depression glass batter bowl.  I didn't know that when I got it out of the cabinet.  I just knew that it belonged to my Granny.  After closer inspection I saw the Hazel Atlas symbol on the bottom and started searching the web.  It is amazing what you can find out with just a little investigation.  The bowl works well for the picture.  As I was transferring the pictures from my camera to the computer, Dugan asked me "Dad, when you were you young, did you ever think about being a professional photographer?"  I said no, and he asked why.  I had to think about it.  I don't know why.  I've always liked to take pictures.  I never considered it as an option though.  I do know that God has always had a plan for me, and now it includes taking pictures.  I am far from being a professional, but with some help and a lot of encouragement from family and a great teacher, I am getting better.  Maybe someday God's plan will lead me to learn painting, then I will paint a bowl of fruit.  And I will use the same bowl.   

Day 137.  What a way to travel.  This wagon came through town earlier this year going north, now he was coming back going south.  Everywhere he stops people come to him, take pictures of the wagon, bring food, or just talk.  Where ever he goes he has something to say, a message to get out.  Can you guess what it is?  I haven't seen him out on the corners shouting at the passers by, or calling people over to him.  He just passes through with his message printed on the side of his wagon.  If you want to talk to him, ok, if you don't that's ok too.  He stays a few days and then slowly and quietly leaves, spreading his message at the next town.  I know his message, but what is his mission?  I would need to ask him about that, but for me it is two fold.  The first is to preach to people that Jesus saves, and the second is to remind Christians that we all have a mission. 

Day 136.  I was looking at some pictures from earlier this year.  It was barely six months ago when my family got to go spend a week in Florida.  We had a wonderful time.  What I noticed the most is the difference in my children.  They have grown so much this last six months.  Annie is no longer a little kid, she has become a preteen. Dugan and Maggie both  look more like adults than children.  All these changes are making this a very special Christmas.  Our family is moving into a new dimension.  Leaving the little kid world behind and moving ahead, preparing for life as almost adults.  I say almost adults because I'm not sure I have made adult status yet, so I cant expect my kids to be there.  Although I have noticed a few more gray hairs showing up.  They are supposed to indicate wisdom and maturity, right?

Day 135.  Ok, one more decoration.  This is one of our favorites.  How could we forget it?  Stacy found it in a closet with some blankets.  It is a little snow globe shaped like a Christmas tree with an LED light in the bottom.  The light changes colors as the glitter swirls around.  It is mesmerizing to watch.  Sometimes it is simple little things that impress us the most.  We make life too complicated to enjoy.  I remember a time when a stick and a rock, or a tin can, kept us entertained for hours.  When we would spend time with our grandparents we would have dirt clod fights.  That is just what it sounds like.  You divide into teams and throw dirt clods at each other.  In case you don't know, a dirt clod is a clump of dirt that is packed together, like a snow ball except it's dirt.  What is complicated about that?  Plus, it was free and didn't take batteries or have to plug in.  I love it when my kids take their nerf guns outside and just play.  You just can't beat the simple things.

Day 134.  Dugan mowed the yard for the last time this year, I think.  It shouldn't need to be mowed again.  It isn't growing now, but it did need to be cleaned up.  It looks nice now and the girls want me to put up Christmas lights.  That will have to wait until Monday.  I have the lights, but I don't have clips and I really don't want to use staples.  I will do something though.  I drove around a little tonight and saw the other houses with lights.  Some decorate for the nativity and some for the festivity.  I just like the lights and all the decorations.  I know why I celebrate Christmas, and it isn't about the decorations, they just make it prettier.